January 4, 2009

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It was a little tense around the house for the few days after New Year's Eve. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I couldn't wait for the kids to go back to school already, and get out of my way — and each other's!

The good news was that Kerry seemed to feel badly about the New Year's debacle — maybe she didn't end up having a good time, or ended up missing Jackson — either way, I was glad that she was paying attention to him.

But Jackson was being surly about it still. Maybe it was just because he was defensive, or waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he wasn't being friendly to Kerry at all. He was going out of his way not to be.

I was about to have much bigger concerns though. Last night, a little after 8 p.m., I heard a knock on the door. It confused me: Sam was meeting with investors about the new restaurant — it looked like he was getting close to locking in the space in Chelsea. And he told me he wasn't going to be back until later, after dinner.

And when I went to the door, one of the last people I wanted to see was on the other side of it.

Susan.

She looked very upset, and she asked if she could come in. I was still feeling cold toward her, and it didn't help that her sister seemed to be doing everything in her power to make my life miserable.

"You really need to call before coming over here, Susan," I said. "You can't just show up here, not anymore."

She nodded. "I know, I'm sorry, but this couldn't wait. Will you just give me five minutes?"

"Okay," I said.

I let her inside and she sat down on the couch. She was obviously very nervous, which was making me nervous as well.

"What's going on?" I said.

She cleared her throat before she started talking. "Alex is my sister, and I love her, but she hasn't always been the most stable," she said. "One of the reasons that I was glad about she and Josh getting together was that I thought he might be a good influence in her life. And it looks like he is in a lot of ways, though she is in a weird power struggle with him. I'm not sure why I thought she wouldn't be. She is with everyone else, too. Especially me."

I fidgeted in my seat, anxious for her to get to the point. "What does any of this have to do with me, Susan?" I asked.

She looked right at me. "We had dinner on New Year's Eve. Josh and Alex and I, and this new guy that I've been seeing. Anyway, Josh started talking about Lili. That he was so excited to get to know her, and what a good mother you were, and on and on. And Alex had this crazy reaction, which was that she accused Josh of still being in love with you, and she stormed away from the table."

"Okay…"

"I followed her to the bathroom, and she started saying that she was going to get Lili, if that's what it takes to keep Josh."

I shook my head. "Josh would never let that happen. He would never even let her try to let that happen."

I did know that to be true. Josh and I had our differences, but he didn't want to raise Lili. He believed in family. He wouldn't take a child away from her mother. Not for a bad reason.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Susan said. "My sister can be very manipulative."

I drilled Susan with a look, trying to process everything she was saying to me. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Forgive me, Susan, if I don't necessarily trust your motives for sharing this piece of information with me. Obviously it is incredibly upsetting, though I'm not sure why you are telling me. It can't be to protect me. If you were interested in that, you wouldn't have introduced your sister to Josh at all, knowing what kind of person you are now telling me she is."

Susan looked down. "Maybe it's guilt for that," she said. "Or maybe I forget sometimes how bad Alex can be, and in a minute where I'm remembering, I do want to protect you. I do want you to prepare yourself, in case she tries to take Lili."

"No on is taking Lili," I said. And then I stood up. "And it's time for you to go."